Gaussian Splatting
Course Description
Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) is a radiance field technique that represents a scene as a cloud of anisotropic 3D Gaussians, optimized from overlapping imagery. Unlike traditional photogrammetry, which prioritizes topologically clean geometry, Gaussian Splatting focuses on fast training and high-fidelity view synthesis — making it powerful for rapid scene context, camera-path validation, and visual walkthroughs in visual investigation.
This course takes you from first principles to a complete investigation workflow: understanding the theory, planning a capture, processing it into a splat, integrating it into Blender, and documenting your work defensibly.
Prerequisites
Before starting this course, you should be comfortable with:
- Basic Blender navigation (viewport, object mode, camera controls) — see Blender Basics docs (link placeholder)
- Fundamental 3D concepts (coordinate systems, perspective, camera properties) — see 3D Theory
- Basic familiarity with photogrammetry concepts — see Photogrammetry technique page
Modules
| Module | Title | Est. Time | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | What is Gaussian Splatting? | 30 min | Foundations |
| 02 | How Splatting Works | 45 min | Foundations |
| 03 | Pipeline: Capture to Splat | 60 min | Pipeline |
| 04 | Tools & Addon Ecosystem | 45 min | Tools |
| 05 | Blender Integration | 60 min | Application |
| 06 | Investigation Context | 30 min | Methodology |
| 07 | Final Project | 90 min | Apply |
Total estimated time: ~6 hours
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain what Gaussian Splatting is and how it differs from mesh-based photogrammetry
- Plan a capture suitable for 3DGS reconstruction
- Execute a full pipeline from video/photos to a trained splat model
- Choose the right tools and addons for your specific workflow
- Integrate splats into Blender for analysis, measurement, and presentation
- Document your workflow in a defensible, methodology-aligned way
- Evaluate when to use Gaussian Splatting vs alternative techniques
How to Use This Course
Each module contains:
- Lesson — The core material (read this)
- Exercise — Hands-on task to apply what you learned
- Resources — Links to KB pages, papers, and external references
Modules build on each other, so work through them in order. The final project in Module 07 ties everything together.
KB Reference Pages Used
Throughout this course, you'll be directed to existing knowledge base pages for detailed reference: